Walt Disney Concert Hall

1.13.17 | Los Angeles, CA

DiscoverLosAngeles.com opened up a long-time LA dream for me.

Studying Architecture in college, the name,Frank Gehry, comes up early and often. I've always enjoyed his work and have seen, visited or worked in a few of his structures over the years (see below) and the Walt Disney Concert Hall was always on my "LA to-do" list. I always kind of sauntered around it, photographing it from time to time, but never went through the process of trying to actually attend a performance.

I knew the LA Philharmonic performed there and I guess I romanticized it to a point of delay/hesitation, thinking that it's a world renown venue, it's the symphony or philharmonic...I thought it would be pricey. Depending on the seat you select, yes, it can be a relatively expensive endeavor but...

Early in 2017, I was determined to enjoy Los Angeles a bit more went back to one of my favorite websites, discoverlosangeles.com. In the event section, I noticed a few performances coming up for the LA Philharmonic, and I read about, "Mehta & Shankar." The late, Ravi Shankar, was a great musician and composer and his Second Sitar Concerto (1981) would be performed by the Philharmonic, featuring his daughter, Anoushka Shankar, on the sitar. Sounded great. I clicked around to see ticket info, anticipating sticker shock. To my surprise, "Orchestra Level" seats (aka, you are sitting behind the orchestra) are only $20.

Life lesson: don't make things so big in your mind that you're afraid to try. Yes, for only $20 I got to see the LA Philharmonic and the talented Anoushka Shankar. Much like sitting in the bleachers at a baseball game, I would certainly sit in Orchestra Level seats again. You are very close to the stage and the space is so well designed that the acoustics are incredible.

I donned "business casual attire" and took the metro from Pasadena to Downtown, feeling like a true Angeleno. It was a great experience and I snapped enough photos on my iPhone to make a blog post worthwhile.

A few highlights: outside of the Hall, just about 20 minutes before the performance, I was determined to get a nice shot of the entrance. I love how the light from the interior bursts to the exterior. Right as I framed the shot, a well dressed coupled entered the frame, turning what would have been a pedestrian architecture shot into a story. The last image in the bunch was actually a "mistake." I somehow snapped a photograph on my iPhone while it was dropping/spinning. After a bit of editing it turned into a fun abstract composition. Also, escalators leaving the metro station look cool at night.